Komplete Audio 6 loses it's settings

[Marbury]

So why would a "premium" audio device be recommended having it's independent PS when a PC built for music making isn't compatible? It's not rocket science. It's doing my head in because there is no pattern when it happens. It's just random. Yes, I could make the journey all the way to Scan but it could be chasing a problem that is with the unit itself. Looking at all the forum complaints I suspect it is.

[Goddard]

I must say, you do seem to run into more than your share of problems with your gear.

USB bus-powered interfaces like the KA6 must negotiate their supplied bus current requirement during enumeration (device configuration), in "units" of 100mA, up to the maximum 500mA available from the USB2 port to which they are connected. This negotiation is done either by the driver software, or possibly by firmware when an onboard processor is equipped although this can be complicated if the initially supplied bus current of 100mA is not sufficient to enable operation of an interface's onboard processor.

The KA6 is known to be a bit power-challenged, as there are accounts of it being unable to supply adequate phantom power to operate certain microphones' onboard electronics reliably or to support use of more than one phantom-powered mic at a time.

So it could be that your KA6 is not being supplied sufficient power from your PC's USB port and is unable to initialize.

If the KA6 works when connected to a different computer or when connected via a powered USB hub, then that would indicate a USB power problem with your DAW PC, and if not, that would tend to indicate a faulty KA6 rather than a faulty PC.

[Pete Kaine]

The KA6 is known to be a bit power-challenged, as there are accounts of it being unable to supply adequate phantom power to operate certain microphones' onboard electronics reliably or to support use of more than one phantom-powered mic at a time.

That's been fixed on all units shipped since the start of the year I believe. Completely agree with the rest stated above however.

[ezza]

Did you answer this question from Peter?

When you turn you PC on, is it from a cold start or are you suspending it?

I've seem USB turn off on powersaving (windows default feature) and that in turn will disconnect the interface until your restart or unplug it as you describe.

[Marbury]

Did you answer this question from Peter?

When you turn you PC on, is it from a cold start or are you suspending it?

I've seem USB turn off on powersaving (windows default feature) and that in turn will disconnect the interface until your restart or unplug it as you describe.

It's from a cold start.

[Pete Kaine]

Did you answer this question from Peter?

When you turn you PC on, is it from a cold start or are you suspending it?

I've seem USB turn off on powersaving (windows default feature) and that in turn will disconnect the interface until your restart or unplug it as you describe.

It's from a cold start.

In which case you need to test the interface on a second machine. If it does it on the second machine it may be a problem unit, if it doesn't then I may need to take a look at the system for you.

[Marbury]

Unfortunately I don't have a second machine anymore. As it's a random problem with power from the USB I would have thought the PC could be the issue as that controls the power going to the machine.

In some cases plugging
Komplete Audio 6 into a active USB hub that has its own power supply changes the
situation.

I must say that NI are very poor at responding to issues on their forum, and that's anything that gets through their screening before being posted. And still my question on their forum posted a couple of weeks ago isn't showing.

[Pete Kaine]

Unfortunately I don't have a second machine anymore. As it's a random problem with power from the USB I would have thought the PC could be the issue as that controls the power going to the machine.

The ports deliver what they need too, up to the level that the spec says they should. It's quite concievable that the interface isn't pulling enough power due to a fault on board or on the interface. It doesn't need to be a machine of yours that you plug it into... is the nobody at all with a laptop/pc/mac you can plug it into for five mins and power cycle it a few times to see if it detects and runs?

Offer still stands to drop it over here and I'll check it all out.

[Marbury]

Thanks Pete. I will if I need to.

[Marbury]

One thing I find with the PC that is not consistent is that it very occasionally asks me which user I am before proceeding to booting up. A couple of times it also asks for a password which I never set up.

[Marbury]

Just heard back from NI:

"The USB issue: I assume that this problem exclusively pops up during the system's
booting process. If you connect Komplete Audio 6 when the computer is already
running you won't have any problem, I assume. If that's the case this is an
indicator that the mainboard of your computer doesn't provide enough current
during the booting process. We see this behavior from time to time and it is
mostly related to the fact that mainboard manufacturers don't keep to the USB
specifications correctly"

[Richard Graham]

So probably the most straightforward solution would be to use a powered USB hub?

[Marbury]

I can't understand why with a decent PC and pro AI you should have to add a powered USB. This would indicate an inconsistent power issue surely. It will either work or won't, not intermittent. All week it has booted up working fine giving me false hope only to let me down again this morning.

[Marbury]

This box has started to fail pretty much every time I boot up. Which is a contrast because last week it didn't fail at all until the end of the week. Even unplugging the usb to get it to work doesn't solve it unless you leave it a few seconds.It's exasperating !

Another thing is I get pops and clicking when streaming SOME music on iplayer. For instance, I stream Radio 3's Late Junction. Modern recorded tracks play fine but anything from a very old recording tends to make it pop and click. This for sure isn't the recording, it's the digital popping and clipping I am familiar with. Have the BBC treated the recordings for radio and somehow that is affecting how the K6 processes it ?

NI censer your posts on the forum so you can't get anything through.

[Marbury]

So can anyone throw some light as to why it works for a few days and then suddenly it's back ti fail on boot up ? It should either work or not at all. It's the inconsistent USB power I find worrying.

[Pete Kaine]

Have you updated the firmware to the one that appears to have cropped up over the last week or so? The is a firmware updater on the NI download page if you haven't already. They've tweaked power problems in the past via these (USB3 for instance didn't always connect initally until one of these updates).

The interface pulls what it needs, the PC simply has to have it available. Althrough I've seen instances where it won't give full voltage initally at start up (used to be very, very common a few years back) whilst the system sorts itself out.

Only way to test this at this point is try it in another machine or try another interface in that one.

[Marbury]

Yes Pete, all firmware is up to date but i will check the site in case there is one in last week or so. What usually helps is not switching the power on straight away after plugging in to the wall. That said, it isn't always fool proof.

[Marbury]

I think I have nailed the problem as suggested by Pete. When I plug the PC into the mains, if I wait a few seconds before powering up It seems to work. However, if I power down and leave the mains plug in the wall socket it doesn't always work. The best way of it working is to always unplug at the wall and back in, wait a few seconds before power on.

[ef37a]

I think I have nailed the problem as suggested by Pete. When I plug the PC into the mains, if I wait a few seconds before powering up It seems to work. However, if I power down and leave the mains plug in the wall socket it doesn't always work. The best way of it working is to always unplug at the wall and back in, wait a few seconds before power on.

FWIW. When I had my Behringer BCA2000 working (at all! Brilliant concept, never been equalled IMHO,piece of poo reliabilitywise!) I found that on switch on I had to go to Control Panel>Devices and click "Check for Hardware Changes". The list scrolled and then the beast worked fine.

But! You are one unlucky sod! Never had a problem with my KA6 with any PC or OS and Folderol has it on loan atmo and he said it just friggin' worked!

Dave.

[Folderol]

I think I have nailed the problem as suggested by Pete. When I plug the PC into the mains, if I wait a few seconds before powering up It seems to work. However, if I power down and leave the mains plug in the wall socket it doesn't always work. The best way of it working is to always unplug at the wall and back in, wait a few seconds before power on.

FWIW. When I had my Behringer BCA2000 working (at all! Brilliant concept, never been equalled IMHO,piece of poo reliabilitywise!) I found that on switch on I had to go to Control Panel>Devices and click "Check for Hardware Changes". The list scrolled and then the beast worked fine.

But! You are one unlucky sod! Never had a problem with my KA6 with any PC or OS and Folderol has it on loan atmo and he said it just friggin' worked!

Dave.

Indeed so. On my office machine pulse audio finds it as soon as it's plugged in.

On my DAW the (rather more accurate and low latency) sound server needs to be told which sound source/destination to use from a drop down list. Once set, it remembers and fires it up immediately at switch on. I don't have to plug or unplug anything.

[Marbury]

Just to update this. I now get the USB misfires nearly all the time now when booting up despite plugging into the blue USB 3 slot that used to work. Nothing has changed and as always the firmware, drivers are the latest.

I think the Komplete 6 is a pretty terrible unit because I have had no end of problems with it what with popping and clicking with audio and throwing it's settings out in Reaper now and again. Of course NI are not interested and seem to censer their forums so you have no voice. The last thing I buy from them.

[Folderol]

Well, I'm really surprised you're getting all this trouble. Mine's been behaving faultlessly. I can't help thinking that either you've been unlucky enough to have a dud unit (what's the warranty position?) or there is something else on the USB bus that kicking it out.

Do you have to opportunity to try it on a different machine?

[ef37a]

Well, I'm really surprised you're getting all this trouble. Mine's been behaving faultlessly. I can't help thinking that either you've been unlucky enough to have a dud unit (what's the warranty position?) or there is something else on the USB bus that kicking it out.

Do you have to opportunity to try it on a different machine?

I thought I had posted that Will! That's when the Rules popped up.

I went on to say that the OP did NOT buy the AI from Native Instruments but from a retailer and it is they who are responsible. Even out of warranty they should contact NI and get the unit fixed/replaced. They would of course have a right to charge but the failure rate of AIs must be so, so low I think they could afford to be generous? Even if it cost them £100 that is a small price to pay for the goodwill generated.

Dave.

[Marbury]

I haven't got another machine to try it on but my motherboard was replaced by scan for a complete different model as the PC had bios booting issues so it has technically been tested on two machines. This unit was checked and seemed to work fine then. The problem is intermittent for me. NI themselfs admit that the USB misfire could almost be expected from time to time. Other NI users have reported popping and clicking in the forums so perhaps sending it back isn't a great idea. It just seems any gear I buy, however reliable the company, I always seem to get the one on a million that is faulty.

[ef37a]

I haven't got another machine to try it on but my motherboard was replaced by scan for a complete different model as the PC had bios booting issues so it has technically been tested on two machines. This unit was checked and seemed to work fine then. The problem is intermittent for me. NI themselfs admit that the USB misfire could almost be expected from time to time. Other NI users have reported popping and clicking in the forums so perhaps sending it back isn't a great idea. It just seems any gear I buy, however reliable the company, I always seem to get the one on a million that is faulty.

I followed the discussion for a while and it seems to boil down to the problem appearing only after the AI has been playing back for a time? It also seems to only occur when playing "Tube" material or music out of WMP? It seems NOT to happen for data coming from DAW software.

Now I must confess I do not use my KA6 in that way. I would listen to those things via my 2496 card or if using another computer hooked up to a Sony 32" telly and using BBCiplayer I would be getting my sound via an ESI 1010e interface (yeah! Massive overkill for telly sound I know but, looooong story!). So, bottom line I have NO idea how my KA6 performs in the usage people are describing. What I CAN and will do is hook up the KA6 to my basic system and run Radios 3 and 4 out of it into my Tannoys because I have those programmes on a great deal most days.

The snag is that will be on an XP computer. I was hoping to go all Win 7 next month but the Fiscal Gods have conspired against me! I CAN tell you that I ran the KA6 for some 4 hours+ in a club last December recording the jam night. Not so much as a flicker and that was on a W7/64 bit HP laptop.

Dave.